Where I live in the Midwest, power failures are very rare. When they happen it is usually amid a major thunderstorm or snowstorm, affecting thousands of customers, with obvious obstacles to getting crews out to fix things. Power goes out... it might last 8 minutes, it might last 8 hours, it might last days.

At that moment, backup power (obtained at considerable expense) is precious. The utility may have to pay far beyond "well" to buy it.